College students work to forget Union veteran's headstone

A forgotten Civil War veteran who died without a proper burial is finally receiving recognition, thanks to two eighth graders in New York City.

Kendall Peruzzini and Mary McCormick spoke with Fox News Digital on Wednesday about their efforts to memorialize Daniel Walterhouse, a Union Army veteran who died in 1910. Both teens attend Albion Middle School in west New York.

Walterhouse, born in Orleans County, New York, in 1823, died at the Alms House in Orleans County at about 87 years of age. He was a native of Orleans County and enlisted in the Fourth Michigan Infantry in 1861.

Tim Archer, a retired military learning teacher at Albion Middle School, told Fox News Digital that the former Union soldier spent about a decade of his life in hospice. He had been injured in the war and spent time in a Confederate prison camp.

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Mary McCormick (left), Kendall Peruzzini (right) and Tim Archer (right) sat down with Fox News Digital to discuss Daniel Walterhouse. (Maggie Stewart/Albion Central School District)

“[The almshouse] It was a place where people came who had no one to take care of them,” the teacher explained. “Everyone from [people] with mental and physical disabilities, unwanted babies to the elderly, immigrants who had no family in the area, and blind people.

The Orleans County Almshouse operated from the 1830s to 1960, according to Archer. In 1910, Walterhouse was buried in an unmarked grave in a section of the almshouse cemetery for people who could not afford a headstone.

Archer had known about the cemetery for years, but was contacted by a Michigan historian who inquired about a Civil War veteran buried in the cemetery. The retired educator presented the research opportunity to McCormick's mother, a secretary at the school.

In Archer's mind, there were no better researchers than Peruzzini and McCormick to take advantage of the summer vacation.

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Both Peruzzini and McCormick found details about Daniel Walterhouse's life during their research. (Maggie Stewart/Albion Central School District)

“I had both of these girls as students a few years ago before I retired, so I knew they were good students and great girls,” Archer said. “I knew they would be good researchers and would be willing to participate, even during the summer months.”

After doing extensive research on the forgotten veteran over the summer, the girls successfully petitioned the Orleans County Legislature to approve a request for a headstone for Walterhouse. They are currently waiting for a response from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to approve their headstone request, which is likely.

Both girls said they loved learning about history and found the project interesting. They were able to gather few details about Walterhouse's life, although many of the almshouse records were burned in a fire.

“He was a veteran and he was injured,” McCormick said. “He was stabbed and captured, so I think it’s really important that he gets recognition.”

“I really like the story,” she continued. “We've been studying the Civil War in class and we've been telling our classes about the project we're doing, and it's all very interesting.”

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“I find it very fascinating to learn about the past and the present,” added Peruzzini.

The two 14-year-olds consider it a huge honor to help commemorate Walterhouse, whose service they admire, even 160 years later.

“I think it’s an honor for Mary and I, because he should be respected and appreciated for everything he’s done,” Peruzzini said.

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“I would love to recognize more people…I think there are opportunities for more veterans to be recognized,” McCormick explained. “And through this whole experience, I really think we can learn to appreciate everything as we did…because we learned what hospice was and how much they didn't have, and how much “It was really difficult for all these people. So for Daniel to be recognized would be just incredible.”

Archer told Fox News Digital that Walterhouse served her country “in a unique way” and said the project was an important learning experience for girls.

“Hospice is somewhat unique in that these were people who were forgotten in their time, much less a Civil War veteran who served his country in a way so unique for two years, and yet forgotten even in his day,” Archer said. “And that’s kind of the extra segment that the girls kind of brought in, and the community is really going to recognize that if we can put the headstone in.”

Both students told Fox News Digital they considered it an honor to help recognize Daniel Walterhouse. (Maggie Stewart/Albion Central School District)

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“When kids are able to do their own research and get out of the classroom… it can excite them much more than just reading a textbook,” the educator said. “Plus, it helps them get to know their community leaders by speaking to the city clerk or county historian or appearing before the county legislature.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for comment.